<p>I like red meat, just not as much as H. And I do really like pork. It is hard for me to eat chicken due to a very unpleasant litigation case I worked on. Enough said. I love shellfish, regular fish not so much. </p>
<p>I love veggies and fruit. I even like brown rice. Low carb would be really tough for me.</p>
<p>Picked up two 10-pound Weider plates at the local Sears. I checked them online and they had 10-pounders in stock and the savings at WalMart were more than offset by MA sales taxes, driving and the time to drive there. Unfortunately the Weider plates are much larger (diameter) than the other stuff that I have and the plates are a bit rougher so I only got two of them.</p>
<p>I will use these two in my curling dumbbell and use the ten and two fives from there in the other dumbbells. This will free up the 7.5s to put in the barbell and leave me with a bunch of 2.5s ands to add around as needed. I guess that I can pick up another one or three tens when I next go down to Boston.</p>
<p>One last thing that I wish I had was another pair of the 1.25 pound weights. Those little things are handy in adding weight slowly.</p>
<p>Got home from the 5 day lake vacation late yesterday and couldn’t wait to get in the gym this morning. Biked and walked on the treadmill. Felt great! Am homebound as my car needs some work so will go work out in the yard. Should be worth some extra calorie burn. </p>
<p>sabaray…do you like turkey? I put a turkey breast in a crockpot with celery, onion, spices and broth and let it cook all day. The meat is very moist and falls off of the bone. Easy and lasts for a few days. Red meat doesn’t agree with me so I am always looking for different protein options. I thought low carb would be tough for me…and it is…but it has made a huge difference in my weight loss. Once I went a week of not having bread/potatoes/pasta I lost my cravings. I notice I am hungrier if I indulge in my carb addiction and then have to wean myself again.</p>
<p>I think people have different types of metabolisms. I run well off mostly carbs. Others in my family do best on mostly animal protein. You just have to figure out what works for you. I like a lot of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, cheeses and a little meat. Too much meat makes me sluggish and tired. DH is basically the opposite, needs to limit carbs and must have daily meat protein.</p>
<p>Anyone here able to recommend a good in-home elliptical brand? DH is getting repetitive stress problems from over doing the treadmill. I think he needs more variety.</p>
<p>NM, do you cook it on low for 10 hours or so?</p>
<p>I think I usually cook the thawed breast about 8-10 hrs on low. Cooking time depends on when I get back from the gym in the morning.</p>
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<p>It is closely related to carbs, but with a couple of key points to keep in mind. Glycemic Index is the measure of how much a food raises blood sugar and insulin levels compared to glucose. So, starchy high carb foods that metabolize quickly to glucose (like white bread or potatoes) are very high glcyemic index.</p>
<p>The biggest caveat is that the fructose in fruits, table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other sweeteners does not trigger insulin and thus will tend to produce low glycemic index numbers (those sweeteners are roughly 50% glucose and 50% fructose). That’s why many candies and sweets don’t look that bad. Fructose is, however, horrible for you, especially for packing on the pounds. It’s just a different mechanism.</p>
<p>The second biggest caveat is that you have to think about how much of a food you could eat (glycemic load). For example, carrots are moderately high glycemic index, but you would have to eat a truckload to really spike your blood sugar.</p>
<p>sewhappy- I would look at the Lifefitness ellipticals. I think Lifefitness makes the best stuff (a brand of Brunswick which makes boats, has gyms etc.) I would also look at the Precor AMT (adaptive motion trainer) or Cybex ARC trainer. They have a little more range of motion than pure elliptical and a lot of people like them better.</p>
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<p>Would he be interested in getting a [Concept</a> 2 rower](<a href=“http://concept2.com/]Concept”>http://concept2.com/), which would give a full body cardio exercise and likely take up less space and be easier to move around than a stationary elliptical machine?</p>
<p>Elliptical is mainly a lower body exercise; you can get useful work out of it with an [url=<a href=“http://www.elliptigo.com/]Elliptigo[/url”>http://www.elliptigo.com/]Elliptigo[/url</a>], an outdoor elliptical bicycle. Check to see if it can be put in a bicycle trainer or rollers for indoor use during nasty weather, or to generate electricity. Of course, a regular bicycle is another alternative along these lines.</p>
<p>The other nice thing about the Concept 2 is that you get a club-quality piece of equipment for a home-gym price. They generally last a very, very long time.</p>
<p>jym626 – I’m like you – I need protein. When I needed to lose a few pounds, I did this and it worked: gym in the am (elliptical trainer/treadmill for running) then for breakfast, whole wheat muffin with a thin layer of peanut butter. I felt full until 2:00.</p>
<p>Whenever I try to stick to yogurt and fruit in the morning, I overeat at lunch. Go figure.</p>
<p>sewhappy:</p>
<p>Tell you hubby to “man up” and go for the real cardio torture machine:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Schwinn Airdyne Upright Exercise Bike: Sports & Outdoors](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Airdyne-Upright-Exercise-Bike/dp/B000E158CK]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Airdyne-Upright-Exercise-Bike/dp/B000E158CK)</p>
<p>That and an oxygen tank and he’ll be all set! :)</p>
<p>I’m thinking about another round of 90 second intervals on the damn thing this afternoon. Gotta psych myself up.</p>
<p>Rowers are the least used indoor exercise equipment. Hardly anyone can stand it long enough to stick with it.
Elliptical is generally the one that most people will stand for any length of time.</p>
<p>The Elliptigo is sort of neat, but I can’t imagine going up or down any kind of slope with it. It’s expensive, too. I saw one “in person” last weekend. Very bizarre. I don’t see how you would use it indoors.</p>
<p>The problem with rowers is that you have to build up enough arm endurance to use them well and that can take a while. Devices that mostly use the legs are fairly easy to get used to.</p>
<p>I should try the AirDyne tonight (the one at the new Y).</p>
<p>Momowc, idad, bceagle, ucbalumnus –</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the advice on ellipticals (and rowers). I really appreciate it. Think I’ll be following-up with the direction Momofwc is recommending. DH really likes ellipticals. Always uses them in hotel fitness centers when he travels. Idad, that Schwinn contraption is just ridiculous. Enjoyed reading about it.</p>
Mowed the grass and pulled some weeds. I am tired and hot. Time for a breather and some water! I have a new addiction…rice cake with peanut butter on top.
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<p>Have they got the classic big-wheel Airdyne? Or the new-fangled one with the small fan?</p>
<p>You can toggle the bottom row of the computer display to show pedal rpm, which is good way of quantifying speed. I’m trying to do 1:30 intervals above 65 rpm.</p>
<p>sewhappy:</p>
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<p>Yeah. I’ve said that many times as I stagger off the thing. It is hard core. It’s diabolical for intervals because the energy required goes up with square of pedalling speed. Pedal twice as fast and it requires four times more energy. So, when you kick up the speed for an interval, it sucks all the oxygen out of your body. It’s the gold standard of interval training.</p>
<p>It’s definitely an older model as there’s a bit of corrosion on it. My guess is that it came from the YMCA that this Y is replacing. Most of the equipment went to the Y in my town and I guess a bit of it went to the new one.</p>
<p>I don’t recall whether or not it has a computer display. Some of the Concept IIs at my Y are at least 22 years old.</p>
<p>I saw one of those elliptical bikes on the trail near our hotel in San Diego. Pretty neat. I thought it was a custom contraption, but, apparently, anyone with $1.5k can get one (same as the price of a lower end stationary elliptical). For additional $300-400 one can get a stand to convert it into a stationary elliptical. Cool. My DH would love to try one of these; he likes to ride his bike on the trail while I run, but he hates bike seats (and yes, he’s tried all sorts of them at the bike shop).</p>
<p>Octane Fitness makes really nice, compact ellipticals which allow stride lengh adjustment (unfortunately, they cost $4.5K). They also make stationary elliptical bike which we tried but were not impressed.</p>